I tried to convince Matt to write this post for you but instead you'll have to deal with my note taking. Please feel free to ask any questions about the system or parts and I will find out the answers.

We replaced our temporary 60 watt solar panel system with a new Kyocera 490 watt
system. This consists of two 245 watt panels that connect to 45 amp Tristar MPPT charge controller made by Morning Star. These all feed into three 110 amp hour AGM batteries. We used the same trusty 1800 watt inverter from our original system to convert all the power to AC inside the house. There are separate breakers throughout the system so they can
be safely isolated and serviced at any time.

All of the wiring runs underground in rigid conduit.

We
had bought a traditional pole and top of pole mount but we wanted more flexibility to
move the panels since the sun varies in position in our clearing throughout the year. Matt custom designed a mount that allow us to move the panels around as needed. They are heavy but it is possible.

We bought everything at the AltE Store online and they were quite helpful throughout the process.

Let me take you on a short photo tour of our system.

Here are the solar panels and their dedicated breaker box. Matt designed and built this re-positionable stand for the panels.

And the sexy new batteries

Here are all the breakers and such safely wired under the house.

My favorite photo - you can see how much power we have. With our old system we never got more than three green bars and that was on an extremely good day. The new system has lots of power.

Very true, huh? I am in the middle of building my own Tiny Home, Oliver's Nest, but already am working on diagrams for an underground "addition". My property is hilly, which makes it easier, plus I can set it up so as to face south for solar gain. I should also mention that my property is located in a very cold climate ~ the opposite as yours but which also lends itself to building underground/bermed.

Well, my original comment seems to have vanished, but I wanted to say that building underground (look at Mike Oehler's $50 and Up Underground House book) is a terrific idea. I plan on building an addition of sorts for my Tiny Home Oliver's Nest underground. I'm in cold weather which lends itself well to going underground.Parker

There is so much I want to learn about this. Let me start with a simple question. Is there a battery system that stores power for a certain period of time? Or, when the sun goes out, how long does the power last?

Amazing! That is so much less expensive than I was counting on. I am thinking of using a combination of solar, wind and generator (if needed)and I was estimating the cost to be upwards of $15000 for everything. When I get to that point in building my house hopefully I can get some names and numbers from you to find the equipment.

We had the old set up here for a couple of years and never had a problem. The wires are visible and we are often under the house for storage or just to look at the power information so we can keep an eye on it.

We plan to build an insulated battery box to prevent them from freezing. Also, one of the reasons we spent the extra money on AGM batteries is that they are less susceptible to freezing damage than flooded or gel batteries. The electrolyte is almost fully absorbed in a fiber mat. Freezing temperatures can reduce the battery life, but the battery will usually not be ruined.

If you're facing the front door of the house, the solar panels are situated to your right closer to the trees and lined up with the back corner of the house. There is a pretty big space between the house and the panels - big enough to drive the ATV through.

You may want to reach out to Jonathan - his Livejournal is on my blog roll. He lived in Michigan in his tiny house before moving out west. I know that he had a pretty sweet solar set up. He can probably walk you through his processes.

I'm beginning to build my tiny house this spring when the weather breaks in Cleveland. I'd be really interested in any connections in the Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and PA area. I'll check in with Johnathon on the blog roll. Thanks for sharing your experience.

While this comment may be spam, I think it is important to note that we did have a qualified electrician help us with all of our electrical installation - which is apparent in the first paragraph of this post.

hi laura. thank you for posting the link back to this on tinylife.com. your set up is much more within my budget. could you tell me what you are able to run appliance-wise on this? i'm still trying to figure out need vs want in this regard. thanks!

Our set up is exceptionally simple, and that was done on purpose. We wanted to see simply we could live. Our small solar system powers all the lights in the tiny house, our three laptops (I have one and Matt has two - one issued by his job and a personal computer). We charge all of our devices - iPhones, etc. Run a fan. We also have a small, very efficient electric cooler hooked up directly to the batteries under the house.

What we do not have is a traditional refrigerator or any sort of appliance that generates heat. Electric heaters and stoves pull a lot of energy to convert it to heat so they are very inefficient on solar power.

wow. that's great. and also a bit simpler than my needs. i have a couple of appliances that are non negotiable (4 dogs. laundry has to be done immediately sometimes). any chance you will be speaking at the may 1st tiny house workshop in georgia?

Laundry was the one thing we were certain we didn't want in our tiny house, but each tiny home should be designed for the life of the people who live there. There are times when not having laundry is inconvenient - we have a cat - but we manage.

I am not aware of a workshop in Georgia. If the organizers wish to contact me, give them my info.

Do you run any of your appliances in 12 volts ? Or everything is 120 volts.Also are you going to build a enclosure for the battery bank ? I heard that the cold is not very good for the battery's.Lovely house, beautifully location.

Thanks for your question. No, all of our indoor appliances are regular AC appliances. Many tiny house people who are looking for efficiency will do 12 Volt/DC appliances, but we felt more comfortable with standard AC wiring.

The batteries we have are AGM or Absorbent Glass Mat. They require much less maintenance than lead acid batteries and are more tolerant of cold temperatures. In fact, they will work in extreme cold temps well below freezing (negative double digits) which, if we get those kinds of temps in the mountains of North Carolina, something has gone horribly wrong.

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The other day I had a little Tiny House writer's block and I put the question out to my Facebook page. I wanted to know what you, my readers, wanted to hear about. I got a lot of great questions, some of which are pretty complex and may require some further research. But I thought I would talk about one question here today.

What is your kitchen like?

Everything that we use in our kitchen is portable or temporary. For example; we didn't build in a stove or oven unit. We use portable butane burners. We have two but unless we are making something that requires two burners, we typically only have one out on the counter at a time. We have the L shaped counter and cabinets beneath. Under the smaller cabinets we store all of our utensils. Under one half of the larger cabinet we store our food. The other half holds a cooler so we can keep some foods cool, but we rarely ever used it. The plates and glasses are stored on the shelves above the counter.

This article originally appeared in the January issue of Tiny House Magazine. Check out details to read this and other amazing contributions when they're published each month.

Our tiny house journey has been a roller coaster, and
we wouldn’t want it any other way. We began our process in 2007 when we bought land in
Western North Carolina. We broke ground for our foundation in 2009. We spent
the next 3 years building the tiny house with our own four hands on weekends
and vacations. And it was 2012 that we moved in. I’ve not kept any of our decisions secret and after
living in the tiny house for a year, we bought a bungalow in the city that we
fixed up. But people always want to know the whys behind our various
adventures. So, without further ado, here are the 10 reasons we built and lived
in the tiny house, and the 10 reasons we moved out. Adventure.
It all comes down to this. My partner and I are not people who can sit still.
When we decided to move from the state where we grew up…

This article originally appeared in the April 2019 edition of Tiny House Magazine. You can subscribe and read the most recent May issue today.

This summer, after years
of treating our tiny house as a quick weekend getaway, we are moving back in
full time. This is the first time we will live in the tiny house for longer
than a couple of nights since 2013. We are excited about our new adventure as
Matt begins a summer law job in Asheville between his first and second year of
Law School. To mark the event, we gave
the house a little freshening up. I’ve never owned a house of any size for more
than seven years that didn’t get a fresh coat of paint or some other makeover. Now,
our tiny house could feel as new and exciting as our current adventure. Over the week of Spring
Break in March, we traveled up to Asheville to paint the inside walls of the
tiny house. We were inspired by several tiny house friends who also used paint
to give their tinies a clean, new look.